Really, my vacation could be called a yarn-cation. When I packed my very full suitcase for our trip, I thought "how am I going to fit yarn in here, too?" But it all worked out somehow.
First LYS I visited was
Tricoter in Seattle. I wanted to visit Tricoter because it's the only store in Seattle to carry Blue Moon Fiber Arts. We had to drive there from downtown but found it easily with the GPS. It was a very busy place - there must've been half a dozen knitters sitting around tables in the front, knitting and chatting away. But ... no one greeted me. I wandered around, looking for the Socks that Rock, which wasn't easy to spot because everything is arranged by color in the perimeter of the store - lovely to look at, but it makes finding a specific brand or weight of yarn a bit difficult. I made several loops of the perimeter, still didn't spot it, and was about to give up when I noticed some bins near the register that had sock yarn in it. Success! The prices were a bit higher than I expected but eventually a clerk came up to me and told me that everything in the store was 15% off because of the recession. Well, that's cool. Here's what I ended up with:
STR lightweight in Seal Rock:
STR lightweight in Tricoter:
STR lightweight in The Claw:
As I was browsing the sock yarn, I deduced from the conversation that one of the women sitting at the front and knitting actually worked there. But she didn't offer to help as I wandered around with a quizzical look on my face. And the knitters at tables made it hard to get to some of the yarn for sale. It takes a lot for me to be disappointed in a shopping experience (I always give the benefit of the doubt), but I have to say that the
Yelp reviews for this store seem to be accurate. Normally, if I feel I've had poor customer service, I won't spend money at the business. But on vacation -- and at one of the few stores that carry my favorite brand of yarn -- I am not about to do that.
On the upside, I met a really nice Raveler and we talked about her
Cotty socks in progress and pooling. I wish I had caught her name! I think she was in the
Socks that Rock group, too ...
Later that day, I passed up the chance to go to So Much Yarn in Seattle **as we walked by the building.** That takes major restraint, doesn't it??
A few days later, I hit up
Coastal Yarns in Cannon Beach, Oregon. They had a great selection of BMFA (including non-sock yarn) and I chatted with the shop owner, who has a sister in Virginia Beach. Small world!
I ended up getting these goodies:
STR lightweight in ST-1 (perhaps my favorite Socks that Rock purchase of the trip):
STR mediumweight in Plankton Ooze:
BMFA Icelandic (really chunky yarn) in Bejewelled:
This will become a Christmas gift hat for my brother's girlfriend. I'm hoping I can get two hats out of the skein, actually!
This brings me to my first yarny stop in Portland: Twisted. I walked in and couldn't believe my ears - my beloved Tom Waits was playing ever so quietly over the speakers! Between that, the copious amounts of sock yarn for sale and the general happy vacation mood I was in, I could've cried of happiness. They have couches and tea available, too. (If I lived in Portland, I think I'd never leave this store.)
The shop owner (I think her name was Shannon?) was really friendly as I browsed. They got a delivery as I browsed and were oohing and aahing, and they insisted I come take a look. It was two enormous boxes of Hazel Knits Artisan Sock.
Oh. my. gah. It was like yarn heaven. Each colorway was more vibrant than the next. I ended up buying three skeins:
From top: Jay Blue, Pacific, Purple Hazel.
I also got some stunning red Indigo Moon sock yarn (which comes from British Columbia):
I saw this emerald green yarn and immediately thought of socks for my green-loving mom:
And I got this Socks that Rock colorway I had been coveting - Alf-a:
Only after I picked up all that sock yarn did I even walk to the other side of the store. They had tons of Dream in Classy (including DiC Groovy, a chunkyweight version I had never seen before) but I just couldn't even think about buying more yarn considering my hands were already full with six skeins...
Oh, how I will wish forever that Twisted were my LYS. And that's all I have to say about that.
The next day, I ended up stopping at
Knit/Purl, which was only a couple blocks from our hotel. I was only going to browse, and then I saw a wall of MadelineTosh sock yarn, and well, I went weak in the knees ...
That's MadTosh sock in Clematis.
Hand Maiden Cashbah in Masala:
I am thinking this would be a scrumptious Simple Yet Effective shawl. (Yes, I realize I already own two of these ...) The yarn is so soft I just can't bear the idea of putting it on my feet instead of around my neck.
Knit/Purl was a perfectly lovely store. They carried a bunch of fancier yarns - Tilli Thomas, Habu and oh yes they have a wall of Koigu. My purchases were wrapped in tissue paper and sealed with a Knit/Purl sticker - so opening them when I got back to Virginia felt like Christmas!
And that is my yarn-cation, in a blog post. I must admit that I feel rather spoiled (and a little guilty) talking about my yarn purchases on vacation. It is very unlike me to spend that much money in one fell swoop - on yarn or anything more important! But I budgeted for it, and I stayed within my budget, so I'm happy. And I don't think I'll be buying yarn for quite some time!
